How to Manage Different Types of Difficult Restaurant Customers without Losing Your Mind Ep 74

Since the pandemic many restaurants are telling me tales of some of the most difficult customers I've ever heard. The frustration and impatience directed toward restaurant staff seems to be at a whole new level. But the truth is difficult customers have been around forever. The problem today is difficult restaurant customers can do a lot of damage if your team isn’t prepared to handle them because of their access to the internet and social media. Today’s

 “Karens” may be rattling the service industry, but how you handle them is the same as it always has been. In my experience, difficult restaurant customers fall into one of five categories. In this episode of my podcast, The Restaurant Prosperity Formula, I share the five types of difficult restaurant customers, how to identify them in your restaurant, and three skills to develop to best handle the different complaints and problems they present.

I can tell you back in the 1990s, when I was the operations manager for multi-unit brew pub and café here in Phoenix, Arizona, I often had to help with our downtown location on event nights. Our location was downtown next to all the big-time venues that hosted professional sports and concerts, as well as near the convention center. Non-event nights were a whole different experience than event nights or multi-event nights. We would go from zero to literally 300 seats filled. I could never get our owner to reduce our menu on event nights, which would have helped us meet the customers’ needs better. Instead, I was the guy that went out and talked to the customers to turn the situation around. I had the authority to decide whether we were going to comp or not, and so on, but it was no fun.

While I have plenty of stories from that time in my career, everyone in the restaurant industry deals with difficult restaurant customers. For example, my daughter worked as a barista for a chain of coffee places called Dutch Bros. Dutch Bros is known for having the most incredible customer service. Their interview process is really good at identifying the right personality. It’s a happy place with happy baristas. These coffee drive-thrus are busier than you can imagine. There is constantly a line at every location. They pride themselves on great customer service and being quick. I remember her coming home several times at least three separate times talking about how they had to call the police on a guest in line. These were customers who got irate and aggressive, threatening violence – scary stuff.

In your dealings with difficult customers, you might not be at call-the-cops level, but how should you deal with them?

The types of difficult restaurant customers

In my experience, difficult customers fall into five different categories:

• Complainer
• Impatient
• Overly demanding
• Social butterfly
• Disruptive

In the podcast episode, I cover how to identify each one of these types.

How you deal with difficult restaurant customers

Empathy, building rapport and communication are critical in dealing with difficult customers.

Empathy is the ability to understand and share the feelings of another person, and it's essential in dealing with difficult customers because it shows that you care about their concerns.

Communication is essential in dealing with difficult customers because it enables you to explain your position clearly and address any misunderstandings.

Building rapport with customers is essential in dealing with difficult customers because it helps to create a positive relationship and reduce tension.

By demonstrating empathy, communicating clearly, and building rapport with difficult customers, you can create a positive and memorable dining experience that can encourage repeat business and generate positive reviews.

Click the podcast player above to listen in, or you can watch the video on YouTube, click here to download the latest episode.